Thursday, September 02, 2010

Pondering political ads…

Let’s jump right on in!

My sister C-Money pointed out that the political ad season seems to start earlier each cycle. We watched a series of political ads this past weekend and…well, truth in advertising clearly does not apply to political ads.

Some group is running ads supporting Congressman Blunt ® against Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) in the Missouri Senate race. The ads feature a disgusted sounding voice proclaiming that 70% of Missouri voters rejected federal health care reform when it recently came up for a vote. Another Blunt supporting ad goes on and on about how health care reform has hurt small businesses and cost Missouri jobs.

But…but, but…um, hold on a hot minute!

70% of registered voters in Missouri did NOT show their happy asses up in August and reject federal health care reform.

That’s just not true.

70% of the voters who did show up…and around 20% of voters did…voted to diss the benefits of health care reform.

A bitch wonders if the group behind the ad is supporting Blunt based on flawed math…but odds are they fucked up that shit on purpose.

And in what way has federal health care reform already hurt small businesses and cost jobs…and I want specifics, because that shit just passed a few months ago and most of it hasn’t been implemented.

The ad makes it seem as if health care reform passed when President Obama took the oath of office.

Lawd.

Pause…consider…continue.

And how the hell do we reconcile the argument that Missourians rejected health care reform in August with the argument that health care reform has hurt Missourians?

It is estimated this proposal will have no immediate costs or savings to state or local governmental entities. However, because of the uncertain interaction of the proposal with implementation of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, future costs to state governmental entities are unknown."

With this wording it is no surprise that it passed! I voted No, and I know many other progressives in Kansas City did the same, but this was a statewide ballot initiative and the majority of Missouri is rural and conservative. Carnahan has a real fight ahead of her if she expects to smoke Blunt (pun totally intended!).

Even if most of the provisions of the Healthcare bill have not yet gone into effect; businessess still have to plan around and adjust their hiring, projected earnings, and healthcare plans around the effects of the bill. They have to report to their investors how the bill will likely effect their earnings in the future, and if it makes sense to hire more people if the company must pay more for their workers healthcare (or pay the fine). So, while the Healthcare bill is techinically not yet in force, it's effects can still be felt by businesses.

If this is a great country, then let's truly be great and help each other. Healthcare is important let's make it right for folks. Why does everything have to be some kind of political fight? If these folks really want to focus on the family and want to be Christian then they should also want to help. Their words say we care, their actions show they don't. They are not serving god they are serving the almighty dollar.